Station Point Green, Edmonton. Architect Terrell Wong has published a new book, Passive Buildings in Canada, documenting the rise of the Passive House movement in Canada. A Passive House must be built to an ultra-strict set of energy-efficiency guidelines first outlined in Germany in 1990. Station Point Green is one of the few high-rise examples.(Hartwig Architecture)

The Cook Residence in Castleton, Ont., designed by architect Terrell Wong, has walls of rammed earth.(Terrell Wong)

A photo of the Cook Residence under construction shows the compacted layers of earth that provide very high insulation value. Passive House homes generally use just one-tenth the energy of the average home.(Terrell Wong)

This Whistler, B.C. duplex sports prefabricated wall panels. ‘For my whole life I’ve been looking towards finding a way to get to lower energy,’ says Ms. Wong, ‘and [the Passive House] is just one of those ways.’(Marken Projects Design + Consulting)